What was going through the minds of England players as they took the knee, yet again, prior to their victory over Poland in their 2022 World Cup qualifier at Wembley last week? George Floyd? Racism in sport? Nothing in particular?
We’ll never know. But it seems unlikely they were thinking too hard about the destination where, if their good form holds, they will be representing their country next winter: the tiny gulf state of Qatar. If they had, they might have spared a thought, and perhaps a gesture, for the 6,500 migrant workers estimated to have died since Qatar won the right to host next year’s tournament.
The issue of migrant worker deaths in Qatar has been a running sore, which has become inflamed again as the qualifiers have got under way. Reports that workers were being seriously exploited first emerged in an Amnesty International report in 2013. This led to an inspection visit from the ITUC (International Trades Union Congress), who found dangerous
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